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A British police officer who died while scuba diving in Gran Canaria might have lost her life through being super fit, an inquest heard.

An inquest into the death of Justine Barringer found recent exercise could have played a part in the tragedy.

She had gone for a run the night before her dive and possible dehydration might have caused a condition that triggers muscle damage. This can affect various organs such as the heart and kidneys, experts think.

The British Transport Police officer returned to Gran Canaria with her fiancée last September, a year after they were engaged on the Spanish island, along with her mother and her mother's friend

But four days into the holiday, the 44-year-old from Sittinghbourne, Kent, lost consciousness around 10 metres (32ft) below the surface while on an advanced scuba diving course.

She went for a 40-minute run the night before her death... it is proposed such exercise the night before might have played some part in what happenedCoroner Ian Wade

She was described as fit by fiancée Tina Best and had dived to around 27 metres, but lost consciousness while resurfacing.

Attempts to revive her on the dive's boat and at a nearby harbour failed and she was pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination in Spain proved inconclusive.

A subsequent post-mortem in the UK gave the cause of death as decompression sickness brought about by scuba diving, but said recent exercise could have played a part, with a lengthy run causing rhabdomyolysis, a form of muscle damage.

Concluding that her death was accidental, coroner Ian Wade said: "Justine was a short distance runner, she watched her health and took it very seriously.

"She went for a 40-minute run the night before her death, she didn't seem to have suffered any ill effect but it is proposed such exercise the night before might have played some part in what happened."

Justine Barringer served as a British Transport Police officer for 25 yearsCredit:
STIAN ALEXANDER

Miss Best, a fellow British Transport Police officer, was waiting for her partner to return from the dive when she saw a "commotion" at a nearby harbour.

Not suspecting it was her fiancée, Miss Best returned to the dive centre.

She told the inquest: "When I got to the dive centre there were two guys in there, when I arrived they stood up.

"They both looked at me, it was like I knew, they both looked like rabbits in the headlights. I said, was that Justine? One of them said 'I'm really sorry we did everything we could,' my legs gave way after that."